This is sort of just a random photo of the day for Sunday. The truck broke after church today so instead of my normal routine after the last service was over I headed to our favorite local mechanic’s parking lot to drop the truck off and headed (on foot) for Toomer’s Corner and lunch at Jimmy John’s (which was only because Moe’s Original BBQ was closed, who knew). There are so many great local places to eat in and around Magnolia Avenue and College Street, or Toomer’s Corner, but it’s also a great place to just hang out, even if you are well past college age. After lunch I snapped a few shots with my iPhone, yes, Ebby came to lunch to protect Deborah. I don’t know what the deal is with the wooden cutout cheerleader but it was odd enough to shoot (at least with a phone), but the Toomer’s Corner National Championship mural is always an impressive sight. Yes I know it’s been there a while but it makes a great photo unless your a Bama fan. Ebby looks quite Hollywood walking down College don’tcha think.
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I was quite saddened yesterday when I found out (who we now allegedly know as) Harvey Updyke from Dadeville (here on Facebook) had deliberately poisoned the Toomer’s Oaks in Auburn with a Dow Agroscience called Spike 80 DF (PDF of what this chemical is and does) “in retaliation for a 1983 event when Auburn students rolled the trees to celebrate the death of Alabama coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant.”
According to the Paul Finebaum show, (audio of caller is here) he had deliberately poisoned the Toomer’s Live Oaks in Auburn some time prior to the January 27th phone call. The OANews is now reporting on Updyke’s arrest, but the reaction across the Internet from Facebook and Twitter has been almost incalculable (see 16,000+ Toomer’s Tree Hug Saturday Ralley on Facebook for starters).
At the time I heard about this I couldn’t think of a more senseless and baseless act of vandalism that could never be punished to the extent of the damaged caused, especially when you count the hundreds of thousands of Auburn fans that love the Toomer’s Live Oaks. But, once again we can see this is nothing new under the sun. This very same thing happened to the University of Texas in Austin to their Treaty Oak in 1989. While I can’t say it’s the same, it makes me wonder if we at Auburn were destined to repeat this history?
I have a special tree here on my property I sit under and read during the summer, and have blogged about over and over again. If someone purposely had killed that tree it would have been quite upsetting. But for Auburn fans, how do you process something like this, the killing of something so special, something that has such key symbolic significance to Auburn itself? Auburn released a statement yesterday, where the president addressed this question.
We will take every step we can to save the Toomer’s oaks, which have been the home of countless celebrations and a symbol of the Auburn spirit for generations of Auburn students, fans, alumni and the community,” said University President Jay Gogue.
Gogue asked members of the Auburn Family to “continue to be ‘All In’ in upholding its reputation for class” and not allow anger to be expressed inappropriately or undeservedly.
“It is understandable to feel outrage in reaction to a malicious act of vandalism,” Gogue said. “However, we should live up to the example we set in becoming national champions and the beliefs expressed in our Auburn Creed. Individuals act alone, not on behalf of anyone or any place, and all universities are vulnerable to and condemn such reprehensible acts.
I know some crazy fan somewhere is not going to take that to heart but the example, rooted in Auburn’s Creed from 1945 says many great things about class and dignity of fellow people. Of course it doesn’t directly address the issue of forgiveness, (mainly because this is a creed for a secular, publicly funded university, not a religious organization) which is really what is needed here. This could be a huge, long, drawn out, post on the sinful nature of man, how we go about showing forgiveness, and why someone would do such a thing, but in the end, we as Christians are called to love one another as Christ loved the church, and this includes Harvey Updyke of Dadeville.
That means forgiving, without malice in our hearts, knowing all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, not just one man but all of us. We are now given the opportunity to show how a forgiving heart acts and reacts when hurt, even if Updyke is not remorseful or repentant himself.
I assume that now here in Auburn anyway, we can move away from the who done it aspect of the trees and focus more on the preservation or the Toomer’s Oaks or what to do if and when they do die. Here are some photos below I took of the Toomer’s Oaks as they sit today, bathed in bright February sunshine, on a gorgeous day in the south.
I will say that these are just trees. Very special trees When I went down to Toomer’s Corner today it was a zoo. The perspective on what happened in some respect has been totally lost. These are beloved trees that symbolize much of what is great about Auburn, but if we could channel this money, effort, and energy into something productive it would be amazing. Just a thought.
Additional current information related to the post above.
- Harvey Updyke’s Facebook Page in PDF
- Screenshot of Harvey Updyke’s Facebook Page
- List of his Facebook Friends in PDF
- Mug shot as listed on OANews
A Few News Reports on the Topic
- Toomer’s Corner tree poisoning a ‘new low’ in rivalry, national media say
- Toomer’s Corner trees poisoning: Auburn working against odds to save 130-year-old live oaks
- Arrest made in Toomer’s Corner poisoning
- Toomer’s Corner trees poisoning: An arrest reported, a sports world appalled at vandalism
- Despite rivalry, many Bama fans sickened by news of Toomer’s Corner poisoned trees
- Toomers Corner explodes in ecstacy with Auburn national championship win
- Toomer’s Corner rolling celebrates victory (in photos)
- The complete Toomer’s Corner files
- Man arrested for poisoning Toomer’s Corner oaks
- Is This The Alleged Toomer’s Corner Tree Poisoner?
- Man arrested in poisoning of oaks at Toomer’s Corner
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UPDATE February 17, 2011: See Poisoning of Toomer’s Live Oaks Article Here along with current photos of the work being done.
It is about that time, less than 24 hours left before the first kick-off of the 2010 College football season here in Auburn. A time of the year that needs no explanation if you live in the South, certainly not if you live in Auburn itself. Tomorrow, the city with a population of 58,000 turns into one of the largest cities in the state and 87,451 will pile into Jordan-Hare Stadium to celebrate. So our Friday Feet is none other than the greatest college player, Bo Jackson.
The photos here are really the calm before the storm. We decided Friday night would be a good time to roam around and gawk at all the RV’s and people who have come to visit. This was actually our first dinner at Hamilton’s on Magnolia. We have been meaning to visit Hamilton’s for literally years I think and just never had the chance. It was super, highly recommended if you are coming to Auburn.
After I get back from the game against Arkansas State tomorrow night I will post some of the days photos as I have for the past several years. I no longer have my super long telephoto lens, but that just makes getting good shots more thought out. War Eagle!
To see some of the previous few years game photos just click on the links below for each game, plus a if you want to see a previous year where we rolled Toomer’s Live Oaks click here.
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This was one heck of a snow storm we had today, and I had to go over to Auburn to take some photos of Samford in the snow. Over the past two days we have had tornado warnings, then 70 degree sunshine, and the very next day we had several inches of snow. I did manage to get out and take several shots of the snow storm today and didn’t want to put them all in one post so here are some photos of Samford Hall on Auburn University in the snow along with one shot of Toomer’s Corner Drugs as well.
Every time you think you have seen every angle of one building (Samford Hall) something happens to make for a great new and fresh image. I took these about 7:30am before the snow really got going today, and I wasn’t alone, there were crowds down on campus by the time I got there and I did see that Aubie made an appearance in the snow as well.
It must have been about 8-10 years since it has snowed this much in Auburn so there are a few images of Samford in the snow but I am not sure what the record is for total accumulation, but we came close today.
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This week the Auburn opened the SEC play with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, MS. This was the first away game of the 2008 season, and as expected, the Auburn Tigers played well. We did not actually make it to Starkville for the game today, but rather watched it on ESPN2 with half of the rest of the country, which made for a real short walk to my bed after the game instead of a very long drive.
Wow, what a game. This was not a pretty game at all. Pounding defense all game long and more resembled a baseball game score. A win is a win, and at least they came away with a win, but it probably won’t do to well in the NCAA polls on Sunday. Another story from the game was the injury to Brad Lester who was taken off the field on a cart and the update said he had a sprained neck. Haven’t seen a game like this in a long time, Auburn tried everything they could do to loose but so did MSU, and in the end, the game clock is what won the game.
Although I really do like the idea of the spread offense that Tommy Tuberville (whom I think is probably one of the best coaches ever at Auburn) has brought in, that was probably the weakest display of an offense (on both sides of the ball) that any SEC conference game has seen in a long time. It is a transition year for the offense, and it looked it, I just hope the Auburn Tiger faithful has the patience to wait it out because in the SEC, a loss is pretty much the season, and next week we have LSU coming to Auburn. Never a fun game at Jordan-Hare Stadium under any circumstances, but without an offense that can score a touchdown? Yikes.
The photo above is one I took of Samford Hall in front of the historic sign saying Auburn University, Established 1856. Probably one of the most photographed buildings in the Auburn area, Samford Hall was built in 1888 after a fire destroyed “Old Main” building in 1887, which sat on the same site, using bricks salvaged by the ruins of Old Main building.
Toomer’s Drugs (located on Toomer’s Corner of course) is another historic landmark of Auburn and a big part of Auburn University. This photo above was obviously not taken tonight after the game, so why are either photos significant to the Auburn vs Mississippi State football game, well right in between these two buildings is the rolling of Toomer’s Corner (of the Live Oaks). An Auburn tradition that goes back to the 1970′s (see the live web cam of Toomers Corner here) when Auburn would win away games, students would come down to Toomer’s Corner and toilet paper roll the corner (see Auburn Tigers Football Season at a Glance // 2006).
Now it is done with just about any win for anything, but it generally looks like this:
I admit I could not make the effort to drive down there tonight and take a current shot of Toomer’s corner at 10pm at night when I have to get up early the next day, but I am sure this is exactly what it looks like right now, only the faces are different. Next week when Auburn plays LSU (and wins) we will be down at Toomer’s corner with the camera to record for history the rolling of Toomer’s corner.
